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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:July 9, 2014

Contact: Fowzia Iranpur, 818-755-2480fowziairanpur@crownmedia.com

HALLMARK CHANNEL ANNOUNCES START OF PRODUCTION ON HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW ORIGINAL PRIMETIME SERIES, ‘THE GOOD WITCH’ BASED ON THE NETWORK’S MOST SUCCESSFUL ORIGINAL MOVIE FRANCHISE STARRING CATHERINE BELL

Hallmark Channel announces its new Original Scripted Primetime Series, “The Good Witch,” based on the network’s most successful original movie series of all time and starring Catherine Bell (“Army Wives,” “JAG,” “Bruce Almighty”), will start production on Season One this fall in Toronto. The network is also proud to add Critics Choice Movie Award nominee Bailee Madison (“Northpole,” “Just Go With It,” “Trophy Wife”) as a series cast regular and Academy Award® nominated producer, writer and director Dan Petrie Jr. (“Beverly Hills Cop,” “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Turner & Hooch”) as show runner. Season one will have 10 episodes and is slated for a Q1 2015 premiere.

“We’re are looking forward to working with the immensely talented Dan Petrie Jr. as show runner for this highly anticipated series,” said Michelle Vicary, Executive Vice President of Programming, Crown Media Family Networks. “His work on award-winning feature films has solidified his reputation for bringing only the best projects to screen.”

Vicary added, “With the addition of Dan to this project, and of Bailee Madison to the already amazing cast, we’re ready to show devoted fans who have fallen in love with Catherine Bell’s signature charm, more of the magical stories they’ve come to expect from this franchise, now on a weekly basis.”

“The Good Witch” series is based on Bell’s beloved character Cassie Nightingale, the raven-haired enchantress who kept audiences spellbound for six installments of the network’s longest-running and highest-rated original movie franchise of all time, with a seventh movie premiering October 25, 9pm ET/PT, 8C. The bewitching Cassie will continue to conjure up her special touch of magic to everyone she meets, in her small town of Middleton.

ITV Studios America controls distribution rights in the world for “The Good Witch” outside of North America.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of 86 million subscribers. Hallmark Channel is the nation’s leading destination for quality family programming with an ambitious slate of TV movies; original scripted series, including Cedar Cove, When Calls the Heart, and Signed, Sealed, Delivered; specials such as Kitten Bowl; as well as some of television’s most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and Frasier. The channel is also home to Daytime Emmy- nominated lifestyle program, Home & Family, a daily two-hour live show shot in a fully functional house located on the Universal Studios lot. Hallmark Channel's sibling network, Hallmark Movie Channel, available in HD and SD, focuses on family-friendly movies with a mix of original films, classic theatrical releases, and presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library.